Simple Gospel (John G.

Lake)

Many times we, who have been Christians for a long time, tend to complicate our
presentation of Christianity. When we speak of the life a Christian is expected to lead, we
begin to list rule after rule after rule. Because of this, Christianity has become known as the
religion of the "Thou Shalt Not's". America is known as the "Land of the free", yet there are
many more laws against things in America than there are in the Bible.

This is the Simple Gospel:

1. God created man. Man did not create God (as some psychologists would have us believe).
God created man in His image and in His likeness.

2. God gave man dominion over the earth and everything on it and in it.

3. Man forfeited that dominion to satan through willful disobedience.

4. God decided to pay the penalty for man's sin.

5. Man's sin could only be removed by blood. The sin of all mankind could only be removed
by the blood of one who was perfect and without sin.

6. If all mankind was infected by the sin of the "father" of the human race, then a mortal (Sin-
infected) man could not be pure enough to remove all sin.

7. Jesus was made flesh and dwelt among men. He, being the express image of God, was pure
enough to pay the penalty for man's sin.

8. Jesus lived an exemplary life on earth to show us how a Spirit-filled person should live.

9. Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Each of which relates to us. Crucify
the flesh, be buried (in baptism), be raised in new life to live unto God in righteousness.

10. Jesus' death undid the effects of man's sin. His blood bought our salvation and his broken
body bought our physical healing.

11. God desires all mankind to live in blessings not curses. Anyone that repents can be saved
and/or healed.

12. God will do anything you ask Him to do IF you will do anything He asks you to do .

13. The will of God is to do anything that reveals God to man and draws man to God.

14. The Word of God (the Bible) is the will of God. The Spirit of God CANNOT lead you to
do something that the Word of God says not to do and He CANNOT lead you to not do
something that the Word tells you to do.

15. God did not call anyone to be a car salesman or a bank teller or a store clerk. He calls
people to be witnesses and "missionaries" to the car sales world, to the banking world and to
the grocery store world. If you consider yourself as anything other than a missionary into the
world that you are a part of, you are not a Christian. A true Christian ALWAYS has as their
primary reason for being - the desire to share what they have found. If you do not desire to
share, it is because you have not found something worth sharing. If that is the case, you have
not found the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John G. Lake said; "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is
enough to make any man the wildest kind of triumphant enthusiast."

16. God has more faith in you than you do and more faith in you than you do in Him. He
treats you like you are already what He wants you to be, not like what you are acting like.

17. Your purpose on earth is to bring God as much glory as possible. He expects you to
commune with Him like a husband and wife commune.

18. God expects you to be strong and do exploits for Him, thus bringing Him glory.

19. God expects you to live by the rules of the Spirit, not by the laws of the flesh or the
physical. The only limits are those you impose upon yourself.

20. God desires to reward us according to our works, yet Christians are so afraid of being
accused of working for their salvation that they avoid doing Biblical good works.

21. Christians are so afraid of making a mistake that they do nothing. Not realizing that this is
the biggest mistake they can make. If you do something wrong, God is big enough to fix it,
but if you do nothing at all, God cannot take your inactivity and turn it into activity. (See the
Parable of the Talents.)

22. Every Christian has a ministry. Every Christian should be training a younger believer in
the ways of God.

23. God never intended The Church to be a place. He intended it to be a people. He intended
it to be a body of people that are consistently being changed into the image of Christ. Just as
Christ was the image of God.

24. Expect God to be big in you. Dream big. Do great things for God. God has plenty of
people that will just do small things for Him, He needs people that will do great things. Do
things that lift people, that help people. Do things that bless mankind. Do things that God
would do if He were here in the flesh. Forget what men may say about you. They said the
same and worse about Jesus. No Prophet is appreciated until he is needed to get someone out
of trouble.

25. Get out of and away from dead religion. Get into a relationship with God. How can you
tell the difference. You can tell if you are in dead religion by how you think. If you are always
thinking that you can't do this or that (good thing) because God is just waiting for you to do
something He didn't tell you to do so He can bring judgment down on you, you are in dead
religion. Dead religion always says: "Don't do it, you might make God mad at you." A
Christian Relationship always says: "What can I do for God to show Him how much I love
and appreciate Him?"

26. Jesus said that God's will is that we do for others what we would want done to us. If you
were sick would you want someone to walk up to you in Wal-Mart and minister healing to
you? Then God's will is for you to go to Wal-Mart and find a sick person to minister to. If you
were hungry and penniless and standing on a street corner would you want someone to buy
you a meal? Then God's will for you is that you go find a hungry street person and buy them
a meal. You can witness to them while they eat. Tell them how God can help get them out of
their situation. This is called "The Golden Rule".

To become a Christian you must:

A. Repent (Admit your sin AND turn away from it).

B. Ask Jesus to be your Lord (Someone you obey without question or hesitation).

C. Believe that He has heard you and granted your request.

D. Confess (say out loud) that Jesus is your Lord and God is your Father.

E. Immediately find a church to attend faithfully. Find a full-gospel, non-denominational,

Spirit-filled Church.

F. Ask to be baptized in water This helps solidify a clean break between your old life and
your new way of life.

G. Ask a full-gospel, Spirit-filled minister about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

H. Read your Bible everyday and always ask God to show you what you need to know.

I. Begin to do whatever He shows you. (i.e. Whatever you read in the Bible.)